Foundation
by Sunsorrow18
Summary: Here I am to introduce you to a rare ship- Architectshipping! A.K.A., Cyrus/Ghetsis. This is in their teenager-hood, before Cyrus shuts off his emotions, and before Ghetsis is... like he is. I don't know what rating this should be, so better safe than sorry.


"Hey, Ghetsis," the blue-haired teenager announced suddenly, turning his head to look at his longtime friend, who was lying next to him. The other boy looked back at him with a drowsy sort of bleariness, which being in the sun as they were now always seemed to bring upon him. "My grandfather told me that he wants me to get married. Apparently he's afraid I'll die alone or something." He let out a soft chuckle at that thought.

"You're too young to get married," Ghetsis stated, his deep red eyes opening just a bit wider, perhaps in alarm.

Cyrus shrugged, rustling the grass around his shoulders. "It's pretty normal in Kanto," he explained. That was where he and his grandfather were from. Grandfather was very traditional.

"Oh." Ghetsis blinked languidly, looking up at the bright sky. "Do you have anyone in mind, or is it an arranged sort of thing?"

Cyrus rolled on to his side to face the Unovan-born boy more directly. "It's my choice, but you know it, if I had it my way, I wouldn't get married at all... So, Ghetsis, I was wondering if you would be my wife."

Eh... there seemed to be some sort of misunderstanding here or something...

"Sorry Cyrus, I think you're a little confused," Ghetsis laughed, looking back over at his companion. "I'm a dude."

"Of course." The pale-eyed young man nodded without hesitation. "But his eyesight is poor, and I'm sure he could be tricked if you just raised your voice a bit." He hated to say it, since his friend should have already begun puberty a few years ago, but Ghetsis looked... er, like a girl. And a pretty one too, not the sort of average ones, but the ones that got _looked at _by guys. Ghetsis was subjected to the same sort of objectification until he told the boys that he too was male, so he was probably aware of how abnormal the was, but Cyrus wasn't going to point it out.

"Oh," Ghetsis repeated, comprehending what Cyrus was actually asking, giving a little huff of amusement at how silly he was. A flush grew on his face at his mistake. "You want me to pretend to be your spouse to fool your Opa?"

"Yes," Cyrus confirmed, giving the boy a rare smile. "What did you think I meant, silly?"

They both knew full well that Ghetsis was gay, but it wasn't one of those things they really acknowledged, because, well, it was one of those things rumored to throw wrenches at relationships, and they weren't going to risk their friendship, since having one was a rare thing for both of them.

"Well," Cyrus added generously, "If you were out of options, I wouldn't really care if you took me as your boyfriend, as long as there's no intimacy." His expression didn't change as he said this. He was dead serious, and totally apathetic, even though it would have sounded like a joke coming from anyone else.

"No, you don't have to do that for me," Ghetsis said, swatting Cyrus on the arm, trying not to react in an overly weird way. Honestly, he would consider Cyrus long before he got to a last resort, but it seemed rude to take advantage of such an offer. "I'm pretty," the green-haired boy insisted, "I can find one for myself."

Cyrus let out a slight laugh, patting Ghetsis's wrist comfortingly. "Yes, Ghetsis, you're very pretty," he said, rolling his eyes. He paused for a moment before curling up against his best friend's side, enjoying how warm and comfortable he was. "So, you'll have to visit my grandfather's house with me someday. How about tomorrow? It'll be too early to pretend we're engaged, but if we seem to be in love, he should be content."

"Hmm?" Ghetsis hummed, smiling softly as as he ran one hand through Cyrus's surprisingly soft hair. "Shouldn't we rehearse first or something? I have no idea where to start fooling him. I'm not much of an actor."

"I don't know, just pretend you're in love with me or something."

Ghetsis hesitated, his eyebrow's drawing together. "Well, I don't know how to do that," he admitted, pulling the slightly older Kantonese boy closer to himself. "I've not been in love before, so I don't think I could possibly fake it."

"He doesn't speak German all that well, just say whatever you want, and act like you are now," Cyrus suggested, smiling to himself. "It seems very loving."

"Well, I _do_ love you, like a brother," Ghetsis explained. "I guess if that's good enough for your Opa." He grinned brightly. Of course he loved Cyrus, and just like he'd said, there was absolutely nothing romantic about it. He was no good at romantic feelings, and Cyrus was even worse.

"We can go right after school then, I'll pick you up," Cyrus decided concisely, stretching up to kiss Ghetsis on the jaw, eliciting a startled jerk and a bright red flush from the younger boy.

~~The next day~~

"What's your name, then?"

"Ah, my name is Ghetsis, sir. Pleased to meet you, "the green-haired boy said, in a somewhat higher voice than usual, bowing slightly and hesitantly from the waist, uncertain about Kanto customs. Ghetsis was not actually a name, not on any official list except the census, so it was fine to use it posing as either gender.

"Ghetsis, hmm? Be good with my grandson. Don't let him love those machines too much. You are going to be his spouse someday, right?"

Ghetsis twined his finger's with Cyrus's, looking into those light blue eyes for support. "Y-yes sir, if you would let me." This was definitely one of the stranger things he'd done in his life. Of course, he'd be fine with literally marrying his best friend - with such a long friendship, it could hardly fail. But, just acting, it was kind of more weird than if it had been the real thing.

The old man said something to Cyrus in Japanese, and he replied promptly, stepping even closer to Ghetsis defensively.

"He wanted to know if you were intelligent at all," the older boy explained, giving his friend a sideways grin. That did make Ghetsis laugh a little- when it came to intelligence, he was very high on the totem pole, to reverse an idiom on its head, in the top percentage.

The Unovan boy faced Cyrus's grandfather seriously, allowing his pretend boyfriend to loop one arm around his waist. "I really do love your grandson, sir. I don't know if it's Kanto tradition to bless a relationship, but if it is, sir, I would ask it of you." Had he said he was a bad actor? He had apparently lied, because the pleading sort of hope in his eyes looked very genuine.

Maybe he'd been lying when he'd told himself that his feelings for Cyrus were completely non-amorous. Yes, Ghetsis was pretty. Of course he'd have absolutely no trouble finding a lover, but there wasn't anyone out there who would both fit his rather high standards, and _understand_ him, and he well knew it. At least so far in his life, Cyrus had done an excellent job with both. Cyrus completely understood how distant he could be at times, or how he could be violent, or depressed. And that boy, the only person who had ever had the honor of being his only true friend, was the most intelligent and magnificent person he had ever met. How could Ghetsis have not fallen in love?

Or at least something similar- he had no standard of what it was like to really love someone, what it was supposed to feel like, so he had no standard to judge his current affection against.

The old man hesitated. "You've not proven yourself yet."

"I will," Ghetsis said firmly, bowing his head. "I have never wanted to be with someone until I met him. " It was true, wasn't it?

Cyrus smiled innocently at him, not even suspecting anything more than mere words formed to trick his grandfather. Ghetsis was acting brilliantly, almost had_ him_ convinced. Ah, it made Ghetsis feel bad, how oblivious he was.

"Very well then. Are you two intending to stay with me for supper, or- ah, go be teenagers," the old man said, flapping one hand at them dismissively.

Cyrus waved at him as they turned to leave, saying something more in Japanese. How he remembered such a strange-sounding language living in a region of expressive German and Russian speakers was beyond Ghetsis.

Down on the sidewalk in front of the quaint little home, Cyrus turned to Ghetsis with a shaky little smile. "I think you convinced him," he said happily, glad to be out of that extremely unwanted obligation. "Thank you so much. I... should I drive you home now?"

"No, no, your Opa was right," Ghetsis insisted. "Let's go do something. Call it a date. That's what friends do, you know. Besides, pretending to be a girl is maddening, you owe me."


End file.
